Savory pies are so easy to make and you can customize whether you want to create individual servings or if you are looking for a sharable dish. Using a stout beer and porcini broth gives this recipe a comforting and delicious aroma to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs. of beef brisket or chuck cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tsps. Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 2 strips of thick cut bacon cut into lardons
• 1 cup of pearl onions cut in half horizontally
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium carrot chopped
• 4 oz of dried porcini mushrooms steeped in two cups of water for 5 to 6 minutes. Reserve the porcini water and chop mushrooms
• 4 oz of cremini mushrooms quartered
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme chopped
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• 1 12 oz bottle of stout beer
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 pound of fingerling or similar small potato quartered
• 1 large egg beaten mixed with 1 teaspoon of water
• 2 large puff pastry sheets
• Coarse Sea Salt

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl add the beef with two teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix to combine.
2. Place the bacon lardons in a cold D3 Stainless Steel 8qt stockpot. Turn the heat to low and let the bacon fat render out completely for roughly 10 minutes. The bacon will be crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon. Pour out the bacon fat and reserve.
3. Add 1 tbsp of bacon fat back into the pot over medium heat. Working in batches to not overcrowd the meat, brown the beef all over. Should take roughly 2-4 minutes. Remove from the pot and reserve.
4. Add two more tablespoons of the reserved pork fat back into the pot reducing the heat a bit more to medium low. Add the halved pearl onions to the pot cut side down. Once the rings of the onion have caramelized but not burned, remove from the pot and reserve.
5. Add the onion and carrots to the stockpot and cook for 3 minutes. Add the porcini and cremini mushrooms and continue to cook for an additional 3- 4 minutes. You want to see the carrots glistening, onions translucent, and the mushrooms shrunken a bit showing they have released some of their moisture. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot and continue to cook for one more minute.
6. Add 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar and deglaze the pan breaking up those brown bits. At this time if you need, you can add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock to help the deglazing process along. Sprinkle the flour while also adding the mustard over the vegetables and cook continuously stirring for 1-2 minutes to cook down the flour for thickening the stew.
7. Return the beef to the stew. Pour in the remaining stock, beer, porcini stock, and bay leaves. Stir combining all of the ingredients together. Bring this mixture to a boil mixing well to ensure there are no flour lumps. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and partially cover the pot letting it cook for roughly 90 minutes.
8. After that time, add the potatoes and the reserved pearl onions to the pot, cover and simmer for roughly 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. You can also check the beef at this time to see if it is pull apart tender. Taste the stew and adjust the salt if needed.
9. Remove your pot from the heat. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Now its time for the puff pastry- which we can try two different ways.
10. One option is to add the stew to an All-Clad 15 inch Oval baker. First grease the bottom of the pan. Use a slotted spoon to fill the pan with the stew, trying to keep the liquid in the pan to a minimum. Once the pan is filled you can add some of the liquid back to the mixture. We do not want it oversaturated just enough to keep the stew moist.
11. Roll out the two sheets of puff pastry to ensure you are covering the entire pan and having about 1 inch of overhang. Brush the egg/water mixture over the top of the pastry. Cut some slits to let the steam escape is at cooks. Sprinkle with course sea salt or maldon salt. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve directly at the table.
12. The second option is to take the stout stew and create individual servings using the Pro-Release Nonstick Muffin Pan. Keep your oven preheated to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, cut the puff pastry into roughly 3 inch squares. Roll out each square so that they fill each cup giving 1 inch overhang around the circumference of the cup. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the cups letting the dough take the shape of the cup better.
13. Fill each cup with a generous spoonful of the stew using a slotted spoon trying to keep excess liquid out. Fold the dough into itself over and over again creating a spiral design and closing the pastry. Repeat with the remaining cups. Brush with the egg/water mixture, sprinkle with flakey salt, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and puffed.
14. Remove from the oven. Let cool in the cups for 5 minutes before removing carefully. Serve immediately.

Pro Tip

While using the muffin cups, you are encasing the stew in the dough rather than just using it as a top layer. Because of this you want to ensure you are letting as much of the excess liquid out of the stew prior to putting in the dough. If not the bottoms of the cups can become soggy. 

RECIPE BY

All-Clad Resident Chef Derek Finocchiaro

All-Clad’s Resident Chef Derek has been working with flavors and fragrance for his entire career. Finding a path from perfumery to food, Derek competed on numerous amateur cooking shows which led him to the All-Clad Test kitchen. Here he excels in creating new recipes, blogs, video demos, and food photography for our consumers.